


Hometown

by potions



Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: F/M, High School, House Party, Love Confessions, M/M, Small Towns, Unrequited Crush, cant tag anything else bc spoilers, there arent actually any official relationships in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 18:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4634922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potions/pseuds/potions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where we're from, there's no sun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hometown

**Author's Note:**

> lyrics from the song 'hometown' by twenty one pilots are bolded

"I don't think I've ever heard that one before," Tyler said softly as he leaned in closer to Josh, giving him his full attention.  
  
"It's a really good song, I mean, it's a little slow in the beginning, but it gets better." Josh smiled wide at his friend. He was glad to have someone who cared as much about music as he did.  
  
Josh and Tyler were suddenly interrupted by a group of kids standing next to the table.  
"Hey, this is our spot." A tall boy snapped. He rolled his eyes, "Why do you think you can just sit anywhere you want?" He set his tray down on the table and stared at Josh impatiently.  
  
Wanting to avoid trouble, Josh stood up quickly and wordlessly. He grabbed Tyler's hand and hurried off towards the only empty table in the lunch room. It was essentially the loser table. Nobody ever sat at it unless they truly had no friends. Josh didn't consider himself to be someone with no friends. He had Tyler, at least. Quality over quantity.  
  
"Just ignore those guys. They're just jealous idiots." Tyler said patting Josh on the back, "One day, you're gonna leave this town and become something better than all of them."  
  
Josh was infinitely grateful for his friend who always seemed to know the right things to say when things went wrong. Tyler managed to keep him in high spirits even when bad things happened to him. His uplifting words weren't working very well right now, though.  
  
The blue-haired boy sat down on the bench and groaned, "I don't get it." Josh began, shaking his head, "Everybody I meet hates me. They hate me! They act all freaked out whenever I talk to them." He ran a hand through his hair and huffed loudly.  
  
"They just don't know how to react to you." The brunette piped up, leaning on Josh's shoulder, "You're way more talented than they are and they're super jealous of it."  
  
"I really don't think that's it, man." Josh said, rolling his eyes, "My drum playing isn't even that good."  
  
"I think it is." Tyler insisted, sitting up to rest his elbows on the surface of the lunch table.  
  
\----  
  
Josh was so absorbed in his conversation with Tyler, he hardly noticed that a girl had been standing beside the table. He only realized she was standing there when she cleared her throat. He didn't even look at her, hoping that she'd go away and leave him be. Nobody at this school had any reason to talk to him other than to ridicule him, so he typically attempted to avoid conversation.  
  
"Hi, Josh." The student exclaimed. Josh recognized her voice instantaneously and looked up from his lap, "Who are you talking to?" She asked as she set her tray down and took a seat across from him.  
  
It was Debby, a girl that he'd been friends with since he was a little kid. Their mothers had worked together, so they often ended up spending time together. Debby was Josh's only other friend aside from Tyler.  
  
"Hey, Debby. I was just talking to Tyler." He mumbled, pulling on the sleeve of his shirt.  
  
"Uhm...okay." Debby looked a bit confused, but Josh didn't think much of it. He folded his arms and turned back to his other friend, hoping to continue their conversation.  
  
Before he could say a word, the boy sitting in front of him started talking, "I really think you should talk to her. It looks like she has something to say." Tyler pointed at Debby and smiled at him before getting up from the table, "I'll give you guys some privacy." Josh sighed as he watched the other walk away. He didn't enjoy talking to Debby half as much as he liked talking to Tyler.  
  
"You know how my birthday is on Saturday? I'm having a party." Debby grinned and pushed some of her hair behind her ear, "It'd be really cool if you could come. It's going to be at my house." She shoved her hand in the pocket of her sweatshirt and pulled out a folded up piece of paper, "Here's the invitation if you want to come." The girl held it out to Josh with a hopeful smile.  
  
Josh didn't particularly like the idea of going to a party with a bunch of kids from school, but he really did care about Debby. He didn't want to turn down her invite because of his irrational fear of people. It would be selfish and mean to do that.  
  
"Oh, yeah, I'll be there." He nodded his head and took the paper from her hands, putting it away in his own pocket. Hopefully, Debby was throwing a relatively small party this time. "Thanks for inviting me," Josh said.  
  
Debby's cheeks flushed, "No problem.." She looked off to the side and cleared her throat.  
  
\----  
  
After a few miserable hours and a long bus ride home, Josh was out of school for the weekend. This also meant the date to the party was a lot closer than he realized.  
  
"I shouldn't even go. Nobody even wants me there. I bet Debby just invited me so my feelings wouldn't get hurt or something." Josh mumbled, pacing back and forth in his room.  
  
He sat down on his bed and squeezed his eyes shut. If he didn't show up to the party, Debby probably wouldn't even notice. He pressed his hands against his ears and cringed, "Maybe it's all a setup. A huge prank played on the loser!"  
  
"Hey, Josh? Stop worrying, okay?" - Josh's eyes shot open as he searched the room for the source of the voice. Tyler was standing in the doorway, his hand resting on the knob.   
  
The blue-haired one slowly let his hands drop from the sides of his head, "When did you get in here?" He asked.  
  
Tyler shrugged his shoulders, "Debby really wanted you to be there, I could tell." He stepped into the room, not bothering to shut the door.  
  
"How would you know? You weren't even there!" Josh quirked a brow and shot the other a questioning look.  
  
"Hey, I have eyes everywhere." Tyler smiled wide and waltzed over to Josh, plopping down on the bed right beside him, "The party isn't until tomorrow anyway. You should relax." He put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him in close.  
  
"Can you let go?" Josh snapped, shoving the other boy off of him rather suddenly. He folded his arms and turned away, "I hate it when you do this."  
  
"Do what?" Tyler suddenly appeared in front of Josh, as if he had just materialized out of thin air, "You hate it when I try and calm you down? I'm trying to help you!" He put his hands on his hips.  
  
He scowled, "Trying to get me to ignore my problems and keeping me from making important decisions isn't exactly helpful."  
  
"Do you even want my help?" Tyler asked, looking so hurt that Josh had to close his eyes. It looked like he was about to cry. Did he really hurt his feelings?  
  
Josh let his arms drop to his sides and grunted, "Of course, just...not right now, Tyler. Can we just have a conversation that doesn't involve any sort of advice or-" Josh opened his eyes to find his friend nowhere in sight.  
  
"Tyler?" He didn't get an answer, "Whatever..." Josh pulled his shirt off over his head and fell backward onto his bed, "He'll come back."  
  
The day had been long, and Josh was exhausted from it all. Since it was early in the afternoon, he decided to take a nap.  
  
\----  
  
"No, no." He grunted, digging through his closet and throwing various different outfits everywhere. He never went to parties, so he honestly had trouble with the attire requirements. What was he expected to wear to a house party? He'd never actually been invited to one of those.  
  
"Damn it, Tyler. Where are you when I need you?" He held a shirt with stars on it out at arms length before tossing it over his shoulder. He didn't want anything flashy that would draw any attention.  
  
 Still, he couldn't bring himself to pick anything out. With a sigh, he grabbed his phone off the bed and dialed Tyler's number. It was a stupid thing to bother a friend about, but Josh was a little desperate for assistance at this point.  
  
 There was no answer.  
  
\----  
  
After about an hour of fighting with himself over what to wear, Josh had decided on dressing casual. Hopefully, Debby didn't want people dressing formally for her party.  
  
He knocked on the door awkwardly, unsure as to whether or not that was something you should do or not at a house party. He quickly realized that no one was coming to the door, so he let himself in.  
  
"Josh, hey!" Debby exclaimed, practically leaping across the room at the sight of him, "I'm so happy you made it!"  
  
"Oh, hi." Josh smiled nervously as she pulled him into a hug, "Yeah, I wouldn't want to like...blow you off or anything."  
  
The girl smiled and motioned over at her living room, "Come on, let's go sit with the other guests."  
  
\----  
  
"What's wrong? Aren't you having fun?" Debby asked, tapping the taller male on his shoulder cautiously. Josh jumped and turned to look at her, caught off guard by the tap.  
  
He sighed and looked down at his red party cup, "I haven't heard from Tyler since yesterday." He swirled the soda around in it, "I told him that I didn't need his help making a decision and he hasn't been around since." He looked up at the ceiling with an almost mournful expression on his face, "I was wrong, I really do need his help."  
  
"Are you talking about Tyler Wright? The one in my English class?" She tilted her head to the side, looking completely lost, "I didn't know you two were friends?"  
  
Josh snorted, "What? No, like, who even is that?"  
  
"Just some guy, I kind of hate him," Debby replied, giggling into her hand.  
  
\----  
  
"Hey," Debby began, setting her cup down carefully, "Can we go somewhere more private? I, uh, need to talk to you about something."   
  
"Oh, uh, of course!" He nodded as he felt his anxiety levels rise almost immediately. What was she going to talk to him about? The possibilities were endless, and that made Josh's mind race.  
  
Debby guided him upstairs to the same room she'd had since they were kids. She looked around before opening the door and darting inside. Josh followed her just as quickly and shut the door behind them. The girl smiled wide as they both sat down on the bed at the same time. Countless movies had been watched on this bed while their parents chatted together downstairs. Nostalgia came flooding back to Josh, and it alleviated his anxiety for a moment.  
  
"Like, we've been friends for a while..." Debby began, her cheeks turning red, "We've known eachother since we were kids."  
  
"What's going on, Debby?" Josh asked nervously, his heart beginning to pound.  
  
She ran a hand through her hair and inhaled, "I'm just gonna say it." She took a deep breath, "Will you be my boyfriend, Josh? I really like you."  
  
Josh's eyes went wide as he struggled to think of some way to let her down gently. He didn't think she was going to say something like this! He couldn't date Debby. He liked someone else.  
  
"I...I'm sorry. I sort of have a crush on someone else." Josh stuttered, absolutely terrified of Debby's reaction. Luckily, she didn't break out into tears or anything.  
  
"Oh...who is it?" Debby asked, not even bothering to make eye contact with him.  
  
He bit his lip and looked down at his lap, "Tyler...you know, Tyler Joseph. The one on the basketball team." He murmurred.  
  
Debby looked up with a frown, "I've never heard that name in my life."  
  
"He said you guys had Geometry together..." Josh felt confused. How come she didn't know about him?  
  
"I promise you there's no Tyler Joseph in my Geometry class."  
  
"I swear you know him! He's the one you see me with all the time!" Josh scratched the back of his head, "He was with me at lunch on Friday."  
  
"Josh...there wasn't anyone there with you at lunch. From what I could see, you were talking to yourself." Debby looked over at him with a frown,  I'm sick of hearing you talk about your imaginary friend. You can just say you don't like me like that, you don't need to make up some fake crush on some imaginary guy to avoid hurting my feelings!" She cried, suddenly getting rather defensive.  
  
Josh gulped, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Your friend, Tyler! He's not even real! I always see you talking to the air beside you. God, I mean, no wonder no one likes you! You're always talking to yourself!" Debby shot up from the bed and hurried towards the door.  
  
She gripped the handle and turned around for a moment, "You're wack, Josh! I don't know what happened to you, but you need to fix it." Debby pulled the door open with a disgusted expression, "Until that happens, don't bother trying to talk to me. Just go home." With that, she walked out of her room and slammed the door behind her.  
  
Josh didn't even flinch as the door was shut loudly. He sat there with wide eyes, suddenly feeling very sick to his stomach. Why did she storm out? What was she saying? Wasn't Tyler real?  Had he been imagining this? That had to be bullshit.   
  
"Josh?" It was none other than Tyler Joseph, standing over him looking concerned.  
  
Josh immediately scrambled backward, trying to get as far away from him as possible, "D-Don't get any closer!" He whimpered, his voice cracking as he felt his back collide with the headboard of the bed.  
  
"Why are you so scared, Josh? I thought you liked me." The tall boy put his hands on his hips, looking somewhat annoyed.  
  
"Tyler, why can't anyone else see you?" He gulped and pointed a quivering finger at the other.  
  
Tyler ran a hand through his hair and let out a shaky breath, "Why are you asking me questions?"  
  
Josh dragged himself off the bed quickly, landing with a heavy thump on the floor, "Tyler, are you real?" He whispered, finding it hard to raise his voice anything above that.  
  
"Are you real, Josh?" Tyler spat, approaching the other and standing over him with one of the most frightening facial expressions Josh had ever seen. Never in his life had he seen Tyler get mad. Seeing this sent chills down his spine.  
  
"Stand up. I told you to stand up!" Tyler yelled, grabbing Josh by the collar of his shirt and forcing him to stand, "You want answers? You want to know everything?" His hands shook as he released Josh.  
  
The blue-haired boy cowered, his entire body shaking just as Tyler's hands were. Now he wasn't sure if he really truly did want to know the truth. Whatever it was, it seemed too much for the both of them to handle.  
  
Regardless, Josh spoke up, "Yes."  
  
The brown-haired boy cleared his throat and straightened up, "Alright, Josh. I'll tell you everything. I'll explain why you talk to yourself every day and why you're so damn lonely." He hissed, turning away from Josh.  
  
"First of all, you're delusional. Everyone hated you and you had no friends, so you made me up. I am the boy of your dreams. Good at sports and school, charismatic and kind, a great conversationalist who share all your interests. I was everything you ever wanted!" Tyler took a deep breath and attempted to quiet his voice.  
  
"I helped quell your severe social anxiety and night terrors! Every time you were jolted from your sleep or were on the verge of panicking, I was right beside you. I saved you from countless attacks and sleepless nights, asshole. I should mean the world to you!" It was clear that Tyler was offended by the entire situation. He obviously felt hurt.  
  
Josh stared up at him, nearly on the verge of tears, "You did mean the world to me."  
  
"Oh, but everything has changed now because I'm not as real as Debby out there? Whatever." Tyler folded his arms and exhaled loudly, "Who was there for you when you needed help? Who was it?"  
  
"You." Josh mumbled.  
  
Tyler nodded his head, "Who was there for you to fill your need for human companionship and love?"  
  
"It was you." He said softly.  
  
"Who was there to resolve all that pent up sexual tension?" The taller boy cringed and made a jerking off motion with his hand.  
  
"...You." Josh didn't even bother to look up.  
  
"You see? Nobody in this world has shown you any kindness or helped you aside from me. This is how you repay me for everything I've done for you? You run away from me?" Tyler scoffed and shook his head, "I'm sorry, Josh, but you can't run from your own mind."  
  
Josh pressed his hands over his ears, trying to block out anything that Tyler was saying. He was still able to hear him as clearly as he could when his ears weren't covered, "You're a hallucination. Get out of my head!"  
  
"Hey, I didn't make myself up, here! I'm your creation, Josh! Deal with me!" Tyler shouted, clenching his fists.  
  
Josh had sunk down to his knees by now, his head in his hands as he began to cry. Everything was too much to handle. He knew that this party was a bad idea. He knew that he shouldn't have gone. Nothing bad would have happened if he just stayed at home like he wanted to.  
  
Tyler watched him silently for a few minutes before finally speaking, "I knew you didn't want to hear it, Josh. Everything would have gone better if you didn't come, right?" Tyler's voice was soft again, back to the comforting tone that Josh knew all too well. He looked up and wiped his eyes with his hands as he watched Tyler nod at him.  
  
"You know...even though you're not real, you're the only good thing about this horrible town." Josh sniffed and stared up at the boy standing over him. Tyler smiled awkwardly and held a hand out. Josh grabbed it, pulling himself off the ground.  
  
" **I know, I know.** " Tyler held his arms out and wrapped Josh in a hug. It was such a strange contrast to the high-tension, angry words he had been spewing earlier. Perhaps Tyler had calmed down because Josh had calmed down too. They were one, after all.  
  
 Honestly, he had had enough of this party, " **Take me home and show me the sun.** " Josh whispered, his hands shaking as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, Tyler was nowhere to be found. The realization that his closest friend had dissappeared made his heart ache. Would he ever come back? Would Josh be alone all over again?  
  
\----  
  
Debby waved off the final guests as she checked the time. It was 11:48 PM. The only guest she hadn't seen go was a familiar one with messy blue hair.  
  
The girl walked upstairs, back to her room where she'd left her friend, "Josh, are you still in here?" She called, opening the door  carefully.  
  
Debby scanned the room until she found Josh, curled up on the floor fast asleep. She sighed and shook her head. The girl pulled her shoes off before entering the room. She moved in socked feet quietly towards her bed, where she pulled the blanket off and carried it over to the sleeping boy.  
  
"I'm sorry." She mumbled, shaking her head, "I didn't mean to get so angry. I really didn't mean it." Debby watched his chest rise and fall rythmically before laying the blanket over him. She smiled gently at him before tiptoeing over to the door and shutting it quietly. The party was over, but she still didn't want anything to disturb him.  
  
Debby yawned and climbed into her bed, using the sheet as a blanket. Like all the other times she and Josh had sleepovers, she was the last one awake.  
  
"I know it's hard right now. It's hard for everyone here, 'cause **our hometown's in the dark**." She whispered before turning on her side, facing away from Josh.

**Author's Note:**

> tbh i feel like this was kind of badly written oooh noooooo


End file.
